No Holts Barred
by LJLanham
Summary: A short little pre-RS story taking a glimpse into what Laura's life might have been like before Wilson... this is my first pre-series story and I'd really love your feedback.


No Holts Barred

"To Parents Weekend," Laura said, raising her glass. "Thank god it's over."

"You got that right," Carrie said, raising her glass to join her friend's.

"Here, here," Michelle added with a laugh.

The girls toasted their good fortune over a pitcher of beer at their favorite off-campus pub. Carrie rolled her eyes as she caught Laura flirting shamelessly with a boy across the bar. Laura Holt was a study in dichotomy. She was a straight "A" student, a math major no less… and at first glance you'd think she was just your all-American girl next door, but Laura was so much more than that. She had a wild streak that just wouldn't quit.

"Seriously, Laura," Michelle said, pulling Laura's attention back to the table. "I don't know how you do it. I thought my parents were tough, but they don't hold a candle to your mother."

"I know," Laura agreed. "But one just has to learn how to handle Hurricane Abigail," she said with a laugh. "As long as she's convinced my mind is on my studies, she's happy… or at least out of my hair," she went on, pouring another glass from the pitcher.

"I don't know Laura," Carrie said. "All that talk about '_you're not getting any younger_', I think she'd be more impressed if you got a husband than a degree."

"She would," Laura said with some certainty. "All my life, all I've ever heard is _'Why can't you be more like your sister?_' Frances actually got married the summer after she graduated from high school. She was eighteen and Donald was already a practicing dentist. I mean, I'm glad my sister is happy, but I want more from my life. I want to have some fun, to actually _live_ my life."

"I don't know," Michelle said, "I don't think getting married would be all that bad."

"Are you and Ryan that serious?" Carrie asked.

"I don't know," Michelle said. "Maybe. What about you and Mark?"

"I'm not sure he's the one," Carrie said honestly. "But he's already got a job lined up in Washington DC. He's got a great future ahead of him, and my Dad likes him."

"And that would be enough for you?" Laura asked earnestly.

"Yeah," Carrie answered. "It's all most people ever get, I think."

"Well, that's a pretty sad commentary on marriage if you ask me," Laura said. "No, thank you."

"Come on Laura," Michelle said. "You're a junior in college, you're twenty-one… it's time to start thinking about your future."

"I AM thinking about my future," Laura answered. "I've started researching some of the bigger detective agencies, the ones that take on interns. I'm going to try to get on with one of them this summer…"

"You're still on that detective kick?" Michelle asked.

"It's not a _kick_, thank you very much," Laura replied. "It's all I've ever really wanted to do. I was born to be a detective. And it beats the hell out of white picket fences and bridge parties."

"I can't believe you don't ever want to settle down," Carrie said.

"I didn't say _never_, Care," Laura corrected her friend. "Just not now. There's too much life to live," she went on as she began to once again coquettishly smile and wave at the boy across the room, "and way too many men to…"

"Laura!"

"What's the matter, Care?" Laura asked with that throaty laugh that always signaled she was really enjoying herself. "It's not like you're a virgin."

"No," Carrie said, "and obviously neither are you…but if you aren't careful, you're going to get a reputation."

"You think?" Laura said with a smile. "Don't worry, Carrie. I am careful. I have my fun, but I'm not _that kind of girl,_" she said with a wink. "I'm Laura Holt, math major. Remember? Seriously, Carrie… I'm happy for you and Mark, if that's really what you want. But I don't ever want to be someone's little woman. I'm not even going to _think_ about getting married until I find a man who treats me as an equal."

"Good luck with that," Carrie scoffed.

"Damn," Michelle said, looking at her watch. "I didn't know it was that late. We'd better be heading back."

Laura looked at her own watch and agreed.

"My roommates are probably organizing a search party," she said. "Sometimes I think Barbs is as bad as my mother. Come on, let's go."

They were laughing as they gathered their things and headed for the door.

"Wait," Laura said. "Give me a pen."

Carrie handed her a pen and they continued to the door. Before leaving, Laura stopped next to the young man she'd been flirting with and grabbed his hand. She wrote her number in it and without a word, joined her friends as they left the bar.

Her friends just shook their heads as Laura joined them. Nothing she did should surprise them, and yet almost everything did.

"Lunch tomorrow?" Michelle asked.

"I'm in," Carrie said.

"Not me," Laura said. "I'm having office hours with Dr. Davidson," she added with a grin.

* * *

Laura reached for her glass of wine from the bedside table, not caring that the sheet slipped away exposing her naked flesh.

"Definitely better than meatloaf at the caf," she said with a laugh.

"I'll say," her partner agreed, pulling her close. He leaned in to kiss her and their tongues entwined. Soon their bodies followed and they were once again racing to the heights of physical ecstasy.

* * *

"Yes!" Laura exclaimed, as she hung up the phone. She cranked up the volume on the stereo and danced around the room.

She wanted to celebrate.

It was Friday and her roommates had all either gone home or gone out for the night, Carrie and Mark had gone to DC for the weekend and she hadn't heard from Michelle. She took out her phone book and dialed the phone.

Her mood had dimmed considerably by the time she'd gone through several of the guys in her book and no one was available to get together for a drink.

There was one person left to try. She checked her watch… he might still be in his office. She picked up the phone and dialed.

"Dr. Davidson," answered the voice on the other end.

"Sam," she said. "It's Laura, I need to see you."

"Laura, I'm not sure that's such a good idea."

He sounded nervous.

"That's not what you said this afternoon," Laura said, not caring how it sounded.

"That's not fair," he said.

"Oh isn't it? I mean, I'm good enough to warm your bed with an afternoon tryst… but when I have good news and I want to share it with you, you can't be bothered. Fair enough, I suppose."

"Laura, honey," he cooed. "It's not like that," he sighed, and then looked at his watch. "I'm going to be here for another hour or so. Meet me at my place," he said. "But be careful."

* * *

_Be careful, _Laura thought with a smile. She knew he was worried about people seeing them together, but she was in training to be a detective after all. She could be very stealth when she wanted to be. Making sure she wasn't seen, she cut across campus and past Fraternity Row to a quiet street with a several small homes that housed professors at the University. She made her way around to the back of the house and skillfully picked the lock to the kitchen door.

She glanced down at her watch in the moonlight. He would be home in just a few minutes.

Without turning on the lights, she got a bottle of wine from the refrigerator and two glasses from the cabinet. She made her way up to the bedroom where she undressed and slipped under the covers after uncorking the wine and lighting the candles that were spaced around the room. Smiling, she put on her eyeglasses. She didn't need them, but she'd used them in her efforts to get his attention. It worked, and now sometimes she brought them out just for fun.

"Laura," he said quietly as he came up the stairs. "Are you here?"

"In here, lover," she called out seductively.

He opened the bedroom door and spied the wine and the candles, and the beautiful young woman sitting there so invitingly in his bed.

"I wasn't expecting all this," he said. He set down his briefcase and loosened his tie.

"I told you I wanted to celebrate," she said with a grin as he walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. "I did it," she said. "I got the internship at the Havenhurst Agency this summer!"

"That's great!" he exclaimed, taking her in his arms. He kissed her deeply, and then stood up to undress.

She babbled on, excitedly telling him about the program and her plans for the summer as he prepared for bed. He poured the wine and handed her a glass as he climbed into the bed with her. They sat up talking for quite some time as she reveled in her news. Neither of them wanted to rush what would eventually transpire. This was her celebration, and he would let her handle it however she liked. He was beginning to think he'd always give her whatever she wanted.

* * *

As morning dawned, Laura looked over at the man sleeping beside her. Sam Davidson would be a great catch for someone. If she were of a mind to settle down, she might look in his direction… certainly not what had crossed her mind at the beginning of the semester when she'd decided to seduce the handsome Calculus professor.

Sam was young for a professor, in his mid-thirties. And for a math professor, he was ruggedly handsome. She loved to run her fingers through his thick blond hair, and she sometimes found herself lost in his deep brown eyes. She knew that he had really begun to care for her, and she was at a loss as to what to do about it. What was supposed to have been a mindless romp, a semester fling, was turning into a relationship and that was the last thing she wanted right now. She'd seduced her professor, just to see if she could… and she'd gotten a lot more than she'd bargained for.

"Mornin' Beautiful," he mumbled as he began to stir.

"Good morning," Laura said with a wicked grin as she began to let her hands roam over his body. Soon they were in the middle of a healthy romp and all of Laura's thoughts and fears about Sam getting too close were forgotten.

Later, as they lay in each other's arms, he began the conversation.

"I'm sorry about last night," he said sincerely.

"That bad, huh?" Laura cracked, with a smile.

"I'm serious, Laura," he said. "I mean about earlier, on the phone. I know you were upset with me, but you have to know how I feel about you. You do a lot more than warm my bed."

She wasn't sure she was up to having this conversation.

"I just hate that no one can know about us," he went on.

"We're not doing anything wrong," she said. "I'm of age… completely legal… I'm even allowed to drink," she went on with a smile. "Consenting adults and all that…"

"But you're still in my class," he said.

"Only for another few weeks," she reminded him. "And then I'll be in Los Angeles all summer…"

"I know," he said. "And that's another thing. I'm so proud of you, but I guess I never really thought past this semester…"

"Shhh," she stopped him by placing her lips on his. The kiss was deep and full. "Let's not talk," she said. "Not now. We've got time to figure it out."

He knew they didn't, but he was willing to let it go for her sake. Why did he have to come across the most beguiling woman he'd ever met when she was a twenty-one year old college student? If it had been any other girl, he wouldn't have fallen in love. If it had been any other girl, she might have. Laura was unlike anyone he'd ever met… and he knew she was going to follow her dreams. She was already incredible and she was going to be a damned fine detective. He hoped that their paths might cross again someday, just so he could witness the amazing woman he knew she would become.

* * *

"Who's that?" Clay Platt asked as he leered at the beautiful young woman talking with Alan Grievey.

"Intern," Murphy Michaels answered. "Laura something, I think. Just finished her junior year at Stanford."

"College girl, huh?" Clay said.

"Don't get any ideas, Platt," Murphy admonished. "From what Alan says, she's really smart and very serious about becoming a detective."

"Yeah, well we'll see about that," Clay said, turning his attention back to Murphy. "After a summer with the big boys, I bet those hallowed halls of the Ivy League are gonna look pretty good."

"I'm sure they will," Laura said as she and Alan walked up behind them. "But I don't think you'll have to go back to school, I'm sure you'll pick up a thing or two over the summer."

She raised her eyebrows and flashed a smile like nothing either of them had ever seen.

"Touché, Laura," Alan said. "I think you might just be able to teach these boys a thing or two."

"This is definitely going to be an interesting summer," Murphy said as she and Alan disappeared down the hall.

The end


End file.
